This invention relates to an instructional device having an adjustable ball-striking sleeve for training a batter to consistently make contact with a pitched ball in an area representing the sweet spot of a standard baseball or softball bat, and for improving the hand-eye coordination of the batter. The invention has further application as an instructional device for other sports, such as tennis, racquetball, squash, and cricket.
Numerous attempts have been made in the past to provide an instructional device which helps improve the ability of a batter to effectively hit a baseball or softball with a bat. The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,984 to Brockhoff is primarily intended to teach proper rotation of the batter's wrists during a swing. This device further includes a batting portion having a width corresponding generally to that of a standard baseball bat, and a body portion intermediate the handle and batting portion. The body portion is of reduced diameter to reduce the likelihood of contacting the ball in this area of the device. The batting portion is intended to represent the sweet spot of the bat. The batting portion, however, is not adjustable along the length of the device and would not accurately represent the sweet spot for every bat. Moreover, because the batting portion cannot be adjusted, the ability to effectively exercise the batter's hand-eye coordination is reduced.
The present invention addresses these and other problems of such devices by providing an instructional device with an adjustable ball-striking sleeve which can be located to represent the sweet spot of any size bat, and which is easily moved along the body portion of the device to different fixed positions to better exercise the batter's hand-eye coordination. The outside diameter of the ball-striking sleeve is greater than the diameter of the body portion, and is formed of a relatively soft compressible material. The body portion is formed of a hard rigid material such that a ball struck with this part of the device will make a clearly distinct sound indicating improper ball contact. The ball used with the invention is preferably a lightweight plastic "whiffle" ball.